I will be working with Nicole Lawson’s 3rd graders this semester. Her class is currently entirely online, and they plan to return to campus at Weaver Lake next month. I observed their morning and afternoon lessons, while the middle of the day is independent work time.
We quickly did introductions. It was really great to see the kids again! Most of us remembered each other, because I taught Miss Lawson’s class one art lesson last semester. The kids are so lovely and I can’t wait to get to know them all better. I asked them if there were any questions they had for me, which I will touch on later in this journal entry.
In the morning, the students learned coding with a guest teacher using a program called Scratch Math. They were programming geometric shapes to line up in different arrangements. In their science class, the kids are learning about ornithology. Later this year they’ll be dissecting owl pellets! Miss Lawson has been incorporating Youtube videos into her lessons which walk the kids through drawing different birds to tie into their ornithology lessons.
Miss Lawson led the kids in two stretch breaks, where we all danced to get our bodies moving. I am glad this is a part of the kids’ routine, since they will be sitting with their I-Pads for the majority of the day.
The kids are reading Charlotte’s Web as a class. I noticed that when the children had questions about the reading, Miss Lawson didn’t answer them in a black and white way. She guided the children to figuring out an answer themselves. For example, when a child asked why the little boy in the story was able to carry his rifle to school, Miss Lawson asked, “Can we bring guns to school?” (“no”) “Is the setting of this book in the year 2021?” (“no”) “a long time ago, people used guns in a different way than they do today, so at that time it was appropriate for a child to carry a rifle around.”
Nicole and I talked about potential lessons to deliver and subject matter she will cover this semester. She said she wants to focus a lot on Black history these next couple of months and teach more than just the basic Martin Luther Kind Jr. & Rosa Parks lessons that many 3rd graders get in school. She also said that the kids will be learning about poetry and expressive language. They have so far learned hyperbole, onomatopoeia, and alliteration as techniques.
We decided that the next few times I shadow, I will do mini-lessons. They will be short, 10-20 minute segments answering some questions kids asked me our first morning together. For example, who is Mona Lisa? How do I draw anime style? Do I like pencil or pen better? We can quickly explore these together during the time where the kids would usually watch a drawing Youtube video.